The wooden bridges that presently link Igando area of Lagos State with Ayobo community, also in Lagos, need an urgent intervention from the state government.
Some private individuals years back constructed the wooden bridges to link the two communities for a fee.
Residents from both sides, who had had to take longer routes, immediately embraced the gesture and business began to thrive for the owners of those wooden bridges.
There are three wooden bridges in the area. At present, for the bridge that allows motorists, every private car owner pays N200 to cross the bridge and pays the same amount on the return trip. But commercial yellow buses are said to pay a lump sum of between N1,200 and N1,500 per day.
For the other bridge that admits only commercial tricycles (Marwa) and commercial motorcycles (okada), patrons pay N500 each per day. The two bridges, which allow only pedestrians to cross, charge N30 and N50 per person and an equal amount on return respectively.
Patrons of the three wooden bridges, mostly workers and traders who need “shortcuts” to their offices and markets, are grateful for the opportunity for the temporary relief the wooden bridges afford them. However, many residents want government’s intervention that will see a good network of roads that will put paid to the wooden bridges and open the two communities to each other.
“The owners of the bridges have done a good job in providing a ‘shortcut’ for people, but if you go to those bridges, they are not properly maintained, despite the huge money they make daily. The day I had to cross one of the bridges with my SUV, an Honda CRV, I had to be praying silently because the wooden bridge was shaking as if it will cave in.
“At a point, vehicles had to wait mid-way for one another to cross,” one of the patrons said.
Another one said: “There were rumours that former Governor Babatunde Fashola came to inspect the wooden bridges one time during his regime. That raised hope that something will be done about the bridges but nothing came out of the rumour and it was still business as usual.
“Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has been doing well. He has been doing some good roads at Ayobo area. We will be happy if he can extend the ‘magic’ to the wooden bridges and open up the area to Ayobo. That will even enhance commercial activities from both sides.”
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